Noel S. Williams

Soccer can be a beautiful game, but refereeing is often ugly. When referees apply loose constructionism to the rule book, consistency suffers. Players like to know what they can and can’t get away with. Erratic refereeing decisions foster player and manager rebellion. Emotionally-laden decisions rooted in a subjective sense of “what’s good for the game” […]

John Terry comes roaring in from the pavilion end and bowls a full-toss at the batsman’s head. Wow, that was a bit mischievous, someone tell him the wicket is on the ground. Deep into the heart of the Barclays Premier League off-season, I’m seeking solace in cricket, particularly the Ashes competition between England and Australia. […]

Mark Clattenburg will referee Chelsea against Swansea this Sunday. Despite Clattenburg’s magnanimous efforts to put the recent racial accusations against him to bed, we can learn some lessons, lest another hapless victim falls foul to indiscriminate accusations of racism. Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and Chelsea’s John Terry are two high-profile players who’ve been punished for racial […]

Mandatory player handshakes at soccer games should be abolished. Voluntary player handshakes should be encouraged. It’s nice that soccer stadia are more family oriented. As a youngster I braved the terraces to watch Crystal Palace play Millwall at Selhurst Park, fearing I might get my head kicked in by notoriously fierce Millwall hooligans. Fortunately, I […]

I’ve spent too much of my 25 years in the States trying to convince Americans that there’s more to England than the great city of London. However, it’s quite likely there’ll be 6 London-based teams in the EPL next season. I’m presuming QPR don’t get relegated — which is unlikely given their new signings — […]

Salvation is here! The English football season is back. I’ve been trying to fill the summer void by taking to cricket but it’s been challenging. In the text commentary for the previous Test match against India, for example, several cricket fans fretted about being “dragged kicking and screaming” to soporific events by their domineering wives. […]

Reports have come out this evening confirming that Bob Bradley will stay as coach of the US Mens National Team for another four years. Just as speculation was growing that Bradley would be out, Jurgen Klinsmann would be in, and US Soccer was going to make some significant changes before the next World Cup, it […]

When MLS created the Designated Player rule several seasons ago, many fans were both excited and nervous. The benefits were obvious – it was an opportunity to retain great American players and attract great foreign players by allowing teams to offer a few salaries commensurate with the great leagues of Europe. The concern was always […]

There is some real drama about which European country will host the next World Cup. Both England and Russia have submitted solid bids, and FIFA is going to have to think very deeply about which country will get to host this prestigious event. However, FIFA is awarding both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups this […]

This week The FIFA inspection committee responsible for producing the report on all the possible host countries for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups visits England. The committee will be touring London, Manchester, Sunderland and Newcastle, inspecting stadia, looking at infrastructure, and getting charmed by David Beckham, Fabio Capello and Bobby Charlton. Many English […]

In a post-game interview after last night’s All-Star game, Landon Donovan said "We have had transfer interest and we will have some time to think about it and see where it goes. There is interest from a number of teams." To be explicit, what Donovan said he is going to Europe, and it is not […]

With a few weeks perspective after another predictable and disappointing quad-annual collapse by the latest version of England’s best-team-in-a-generation, the FA is starting to weigh in. In article published yesterday in the Mirror, the FA revealed its new strategy – groom an English coach to take over for Fabio Capello in two years, bring a […]

Soccer has an almost magical ability to reflect a national character. Brazil is a sensuous, musical nation, and for its national soccer team, it is not enough to simply win – they need to win with grace, style and beauty. At the other end of the spectrum, a disciplined, efficient country like Germany has created […]

Supposedly, the Three Lions on England football shirts represent pride, passion and courage. Clearly, it’s time for a kit redesign. Even as England’s footballing lions shriveled into meek kittens in the World Cup cauldron it may be finally sinking in that England are ordinary. They’re capable of qualifying for major tournaments, perhaps even making the […]

After the failure of Germany 2006, nobody wanted to hire Bob Bradley for this job. It was hard to find a fan that thought he was the right man. US Soccer was desperate to hire Jurgen Klinsman. Columnist fantasized about importing some maestro from Europe or South America. When the other options failed to pan […]